If Conor McGregor fulfills the final fight on his UFC deal, Israel Adesanya thinks Michael Chandler is the lone opponent for “Mystic Mac.”
Things did not go as planned for McGregor in his first pro MMA fight in five years. McGregor made his entrance inside T-Mobile Arena to his usual pomp and circumstance, although some feel even that was a bit diminished from his peak years. Nonetheless, McGregor made his way inside the Octagon for the first time since 2021, and fans were intrigued by which version of the “Notorious” one they would get to see.
The fight ended up going off the rails quickly when McGregor attempted a jumping kick that led to a right knee injury. The bout didn’t go on for much longer before referee Mike Beltran saw enough. McGregor’s UFC 329 return ended in disaster, and some are questioning if the former two-division champion will ever compete under the UFC banner again.
During the “Precision Podcast,” Adesanya told Demetrious Johnson that the long lost Chandler fight may be the only way McGregor gets back inside the Octagon (h/t MMAFighting).
“I did see [McGregor] when he was sitting down and he looked distraught,” Adesanya said. “He looked like, a lot of weight on him. He kind of picked at his glove for a second, so I thought, ‘Is he going to retire?’ I don’t think so, but a fight with Max again after a five-year layoff, you’re fighting at the top of the heap. You’re fighting one of the best to do it. That’s a hard fight to come back against.
“I say, if he does decide to come back later on, Chandler would be the only fight that makes sense.”
McGregor and Chandler were scheduled to collide back in 2024. That plan was derailed after McGregor suffered an injury. Since missing out on the McGregor sweepstakes, Chandler has gone 0-3 and he’s been stopped in two of those bouts. Still, Adesanya believes McGregor would be doing the right thing by giving Chandler the fight he was promised.
“He kind of owes Chandler that fight,” Adesanya said. “He honeyd*cked him for for, like, two, three years while Chandler was waiting for the big money fight. So now, after The Ultimate Fighter, after all those times, it would be good for them to kind of settle the score because they even have a little bit of—Not beef, but they’ve got some heat there. That would be the fight I think he should come back to.”
McGregor awaits an official diagnosis on his right knee injury. UFC CEO Dana White said that he suspects the top MMA star blew out his ACL.
Do you think Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler could finally happen after the fallout of UFC 329, or has that ship long sailed? Sound off in the comments below.
